Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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How do you kill a hero? The deaths of Sherlock in the 19th century, and that of Eline Vere in Louis Couperus’ Eline Vere in the early 20th century stirred the hearts of their audiences to such a...Show moreHow do you kill a hero? The deaths of Sherlock in the 19th century, and that of Eline Vere in Louis Couperus’ Eline Vere in the early 20th century stirred the hearts of their audiences to such a degree that people actually believed an actual person had died. In present popular culture, the death of a protagonist can still have a profound impact. Lord Eddard Stark’s death, the main protagonist in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones, comes rather unexpected and the very unorthodox way of killing the characters in the rest of this series has become a meme on the internet. The death of Brian the talking dog in the sit-com Family Guy (season 12, episode 6) even led to protest and Facebook pages to get him back into the series. Patroclus’ death is considered to be “terrifying”, and to have “great psychological depth” Janko (1992, p. 312). Together with Sarpedon’s death before and afterwards Hector’s, it is claimed by De Jong (2012, 13-15) to be the central death scene in the Iliad. With the modern examples in mind, the question arises how the narrator of the Iliad conveys the emotional charge these deaths have. To investigate how the audience is involved in their deaths, the study of immersion will be applied. This thesis will deal with the emotional involvement in the death scenes of three heroes: Sarpedon, Patroclus, and Hector. These deaths are knitted together. Patroclus kills Sarpedon, and against Achilles’ wishes, he rushes to the Trojan walls. There he is killed by Hector. In return, Hector is killed by Achilles to avenge his fallen friend Patroclus. Elements of Sarpedon’s death are repeated in Hector’s. Sarpedon is the leader of Troy’s allies, and second to Hector. In both scenes, Zeus deliberates on their deaths. In all killing scenes there are a dialogue, spoliation of armour, and threat of mutilation. There is a fight for Sarpedon’s, and Patroclus’ corpse; Hector’s is claimed by Achilles, and the Greeks only run around his body. The central question of this thesis will therefore be how these death scenes relate to each other and to other deaths in the Iliad. In order to substantiate judgments like “terrifying”, this research will assess scenes with the deaths of minor and major heroes. It can be expected that the former are less immersive than the deaths of major heroes that have a crucial role in the plot. Scene 6.1-24 will be assessed for minor heroes. Passage 16.394-867, Sarpedon’s and Patroclus’ deaths, and 22.90-404, that of Hector, are examined as examples of the deaths of major heroes. I will argue that visual and sensory immersion is present in most deaths, but that emotional immersion is used mostly in passages important to the development of the story. The continuation of the same mental space will be shown to be an important feature of visual immersion in death scenes. Allan, De Jong, & De Jonge (2014) have already argued for the immersive style of Homer’s epic. This thesis will add to this claim that, when larger stretches of narrative are taken under scrutiny, it is revealed the Homeric narrator does not just use these immersive elements at random: there is logic to his choices.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis investigates the treatise 'De resurrectione' of Pseudo-Justin as part of the resurrection debate around 180 CE: How it is related to the dominant intellectual discourse of Hellenistic...Show moreThis thesis investigates the treatise 'De resurrectione' of Pseudo-Justin as part of the resurrection debate around 180 CE: How it is related to the dominant intellectual discourse of Hellenistic philosophy and what its place is in the development of Christianity.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
It has long been recognised that ancient Egyptian women occupied a unique position within society in comparison to women in other ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern civilisations. This was...Show moreIt has long been recognised that ancient Egyptian women occupied a unique position within society in comparison to women in other ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern civilisations. This was already characteristic of the culture in antiquity and recognised by ancient Greek and Roman historians. Classical visitors of Egypt, like Herodotus, commented on the position of women as unusual and different from the situation they knew from their own cultures. This situation persisted even after the introduction of Greek and Roman traditions, which more heavily restricted women’s position and activities. Women participated in the economy of Egypt to a greater extent than can be documented for women from any other society in antiquity. When compared to women from other ancient cultures, such as Greece or Rome, the average Egyptian woman was relatively independent. She could inherit, own and dispose of property in her own right. She enjoyed a legal status, in theory equal to a man, and could act independently in business and court settings. In contrast to some cultures, no male guardian was required to act for her. Considering all these examples of female independence within society, it seems to be expected that women also enjoyed a certain degree of freedom when it comes to their occupational activities.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
A comprehensive and concise poetics of biblical Hebrew poetry—its poiesis or active making, the aesthetics of its genesis, the principles of its composition—is the goal of the present work. A...Show moreA comprehensive and concise poetics of biblical Hebrew poetry—its poiesis or active making, the aesthetics of its genesis, the principles of its composition—is the goal of the present work. A survey of the scholarship, past and present, is undertaken, before a cognitive approach is applied to the problem of biblical Hebrew 'metrics'.Show less
